B&D Celebrates its 70th Anniversary

Published On August 15, 2017

It began as a $9,000 investment by John D. Nations in 1947, and 70 years later, the company has grown into a $100 million success story.

Headquartered in Macon, Georgia since 1950, B&D Industrial supports three divisions—B&D Technologies, B&D Service and Scale Systems—while serving a broad industry and customer base across the U.S. While the corporate footprint has expanded, the company still remains a stalwart of traditional values and indomitable work ethic.

When B&D Industrial (formerly named Bearings and Drives) was formed, Mr. Nations’ vision was to create jobs and opportunities for people and to provide great products and services for his customers. In addition, he believed an essential key to success was hiring helpful, dedicated employees.

“When I joined B&D in 1949, I knew we were going to be a success, despite strong competition. Eager to earn the business and trust of the surrounding industries, we provided customers with 24/7 service, offered thorough product knowledge, tailored our stock inventory to meet the customers’ requirements and always went the extra mile when needed,” said Doug Brown, 68-year employee and inside salesperson for B&D Technologies. “I’m pleased to say, on our 70th anniversary, those same basic principles continue to drive our growth and customer loyalty.”

Today, B&D Industrial features second and third generation founding family members at the helm, directing the company’s growth through its divisions. B&D Technologies is a distributor for hundreds of manufacturers and produces custom solutions for a broad range of automation and mechanical applications. B&D Service is an industry-leading division with capabilities to service, repair and rebuild complex industrial rotating equipment. Scale Systems is one of the largest, most progressive industrial scale distributors in the country and provides custom industrial scale products and services. In 2017, B&D acquired ecommerce enterprise, Industrial Control Direct. Through this acquisition, B&D Technologies will provide expansive product offerings online.

“B&D is proud to be celebrating its 70th anniversary as a leading industrial solutions provider. Since the day my father started this company, we have operated with the keen objective of providing service, solutions and expertise to keep our customers running. And, as technology and manufacturing processes progress, we too advance to provide new products and services to better serve our customers,” said Andy Nations, president and CEO of B&D Industrial. Andy joined B&D in 1971 as an inside salesperson and has held the CEO role since 1993. “B&D has grown tremendously throughout the years. While there have been several contributors to the company’s growth, I would rank our dedicated employees as the primary reason. We’ve been blessed to have a solid base of employees who come to work with a mission of providing solutions for our customers.”

In 2015, B&D Industrial rolled-out an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) where the company became family and employee-owned. B&D’s legacy of excellence and the culture that has sustained it since 1947 is due, at least in part, to B&D’s proud tradition as an independent, family-owned company. Deciding to put that future and leadership directly in the hands of the people who have helped build it seemed a natural next step in the company’s evolution.

The company and employees are active members, board members and founding members of dozens of industry associations. Community oriented, the company is also a strong supporter of the Middle Georgia community.